NHS cervical cancer screening labs backlog of 150,000 samples, audit bureau reveals



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According to a devastating review of NHS screening, a backlog of more than 150,000 cervical cancer screening samples pending testing has been allowed to be set up in all laboratories in England.

The National Audit Office discovered at one point last year that only one third of smeared women had their results within 14 days.

This suggests that hundreds of thousands of people need to worry imprudently and potentially delay the completion of other tests or treatments for the treatment of abnormal cells that may become cancerous.


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No NHS screening program, including those for bad and bowel cancer, has reached its target the previous year for screening patients – although cervical cancer Uterus was the worst performer, according to the NAO report.

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1/13

Stop smoking. This notoriously difficult habit to break sees the accumulation of tar in the lungs and the alteration of DNA and causes 15,558 cancer deaths

2/13

Avoiding the sun and melanoma badociated with overexposure to harmful UV rays, could help conscientious shade-goers to dodge the fact of being one of the 7,220 people who die from it

3/13

According to one study, a diet low in red meat can help prevent bowel cancer – 30 grams a day are recommended for men and 25 a day for women.

4/13

Fiber-rich foods can contribute to healthy intestines. Processed foods in developed countries seem to cause higher rates of colon cancer than those in European countries such as Africa, where beans and impulses are high

5/13

Two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day were given as a magic number for good nutrition as part of the research. Overall, diet causes only slightly fewer cancer deaths than sun exposure in Australia (7,000 per year)

6/13

Overweight and obesity, related to poor diet and lack of physical exercise, cause 3,917 cancer deaths per year

Getty

7/13

Dying from cancer caused by infection is also an important factor, linked to 3,421 cancer deaths each year. Infections such as human papillomavirus – which can cause cervical cancer in women – and hepatitis – can be prevented by vaccination and regular checkups

8/13

Reduced consumption may reduce the risk of alcohol-related cancers, such as liver cancer, bowel cancer, bad cancer and oral cancer, resulting in 3,208 deaths per year.

2014 Getty Images

9/13

Sitting without moving your heart – less than an hour of exercise a day – leads to about 1,800 people to have lower immune functions and higher hormone levels, among other factors, which cause cancer.

2011 Getty Images

10/13

Hormone replacement therapy, which is used to relieve menopausal symptoms in women, caused 539 cancer deaths (mostly bad cancer) in Australia last year. However, he prevented 52 cases of colorectal cancer

2003 Getty Images

11/13

Oddly enough, badfeeding is insufficient in the top 10. Breastfeeding for 12 months could prevent 235 cancer cases a year, according to research.

AFP / Getty Images

12/13

Oral contraceptives, like the pill, caused about 105 bad cancers and 52 cervical cancers – but they also prevented about 1,440 ovarian and uterine cancers ( uterus) last year.

2006 Getty Images

13/13

Taking aspirin has also avoided 232 cases in colorectal and oesophageal cancer research in Queensland – but as it can also cause strokes, it is not yet recommended as a formal treatment for the risk of cancer.


1/13

Stop smoking. This notoriously difficult habit to break sees the accumulation of tar in the lungs and the alteration of DNA and causes 15,558 cancer deaths

2/13

Avoiding the sun and melanoma badociated with overexposure to harmful UV rays, could help conscientious shade-goers to dodge the fact of being one of the 7,220 people who die from it

3/13

According to one study, a diet low in red meat can help prevent bowel cancer – 30 grams a day are recommended for men and 25 a day for women.

4/13

Fiber-rich foods can contribute to healthy intestines. Processed foods in developed countries seem to cause higher rates of colon cancer than those in European countries such as Africa, where beans and impulses are high


5/13

Two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day were given as a magic number for good nutrition as part of the research. Overall, diet causes only slightly fewer cancer deaths than sun exposure in Australia (7,000 per year)

6/13

Overweight and obesity, related to poor diet and lack of physical exercise, cause 3,917 cancer deaths per year

Getty

7/13

Dying from cancer caused by infection is also an important factor, linked to 3,421 cancer deaths each year. Infections such as human papillomavirus – which can cause cervical cancer in women – and hepatitis – can be prevented by vaccination and regular checkups

8/13

Reduced consumption may reduce the risk of alcohol-related cancers, such as liver cancer, bowel cancer, bad cancer and oral cancer, resulting in 3,208 deaths per year.

2014 Getty Images


9/13

Sitting without moving your heart – less than an hour of exercise a day – leads to about 1,800 people to have lower immune functions and higher hormone levels, among other factors, which cause cancer.

2011 Getty Images

10/13

Hormone replacement therapy, which is used to relieve menopausal symptoms in women, caused 539 cancer deaths (mostly bad cancer) in Australia last year. However, he prevented 52 cases of colorectal cancer

2003 Getty Images

11/13

Oddly enough, badfeeding is insufficient in the top 10. Breastfeeding for 12 months could prevent 235 cancer cases a year, according to research.

AFP / Getty Images

12/13

Oral contraceptives, like the pill, caused about 105 bad cancers and 52 cervical cancers – but they also prevented about 1,440 ovarian and uterine cancers ( uterus) last year.

2006 Getty Images


13/13

Taking aspirin has also avoided 232 cases in colorectal and oesophageal cancer research in Queensland – but as it can also cause strokes, it is not yet recommended as a formal treatment for the risk of cancer.

Screening changes, which detect the human pappilomavirus (HPV) that is responsible for the majority of cervical cancers rather than manually looking for abnormal cells, were announced in 2016.

This decision will reduce the number of laboratories needed for screening from 48 to nine. According to the NAO, this would have resulted in an exodus of staff "looking for greater security of employment".

This led to "a drop in performance compared to the timeout targets" and to an accumulation of samples waiting for testing, the NAO said.

Last year, it follows that nearly 50,000 women missed screening invitations or their results due to issues related to outsourced service elements in Capita.

It was also feared that hundreds of thousands of missed invitations to bad cancer screening led to the untimely death of hundreds of women – though this was revised downward thereafter.

The NAO has had problems with outdated computer systems, which means that people may not receive invitations to cancer screening.

"All screening programs rely on a complex and aging computer system to identify who to invite to participate in screening," the report says.

NHS England intended to replace it in 2017, but the process has now been delayed, resulting in "additional cost and increased risk that screening services can not identify and reliably invite eligible populations to be screened" .

Labor MP Meg Hillier, Chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said that he was "concerned that not everyone eligible to participate in screening programs will do so".

She added, "Screening programs are not always able to detect people who are not invited to an appointment for screening or to ensure that people receive the results of their tests. on time."

Robert Music, general manager of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, said: "Over the past year, many women have voiced their concerns about late results and it's just unfair that women experience undue stress as a result of failures in program management. "

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Services said, "Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer are key priorities for this government. We are already working closely with NHS England and Public Health England to address the issues highlighted by this helpful report.

"An independent study announced by NHS England focuses on cancer screening services. We expect this to lead to a complete overhaul of the system, so that it meets the high expectations of NHS patients. "

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